Our whole family loves to play one called Cover Your Assets. You can buy it on Amazon. :001_smile:

The used car my son is driving came from a state surplus auction. Basically the state, city, county vehicles that are being replaced will go up on an auction site that's run by one of the state universities. My husband thinks that the car we bought... a Ford Escape... was probably driven around by a building inspector, so not hard use. We got a huge file of all the maintenance records, and it was very thoroughly maintained. We paid $2,000 for it, and then bought two new tires and a new battery. So far so good! Maybe do some googling and try to find out how your state deals with their surplus vehicles?

I don't have any advice, but I did want to commiserate a bit. My eighteen year old son has no interest in college. He also has no interest in being parented (lol), so he has already moved out on his own. Today he started his brand-new job as an entry-level machinist. He will be welding, grinding metal, learning to drive a fork-lift, and probably lots of grunt work. He doesn't enjoy academics and really wants to work with his hands. And you know what? I'm proud of him. I'm sure lots of people would.... like you said.... view this as a "loser path." But why? He's doing good, honest work. He's trying to learn new skills. And he'll be making enough money to support himself and his girlfriend in a very modest style while she goes to community college. If he changes his mind in the future it's never too late to pick a different path, but at least he had the guts to give this one a shot. I hope your son finds a path that he loves.... college or not. And I hope that nobody makes him feel like a loser for trying something he enjoys. Hang in there, mama. :grouphug:

I definitely have problems with nightshades. I can eat a small amount, but if I eat too many all of my joints become stiff and painful. Starts with pain in my hips when I'm trying to sleep, and eventually moves into my elbows, spine and hands. Removing them from my diet makes the stiffness go away in just a day or two. I've repeated the cycle so many times that there's no doubt in my mind that nightshades are the problem. (And yes, I'm a slow learner. A slow learner with a weakness for spaghetti sauce and potato chips!)

A movie I absolutely adore which doesn't get mentioned very often is Joe vs The Volcano. It stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and is just so quirky and fun. :001_smile:

We bought one 3 years ago and it has some sort of problem with the brakes. By about 12,000 miles the brakes were worn down to nothing. We had paid for the extended warranty (stupid), but of course the service department denied there was any problem. Said it must just be the way I drove. :cursing: I'd like to get rid of it, but dh wants to keep it and just figure new brakes every year or two as part of the maintenance costs. Lovely. Other than that it's a fine car, I suppose.

This little blooper really sums up trying to work at home with young kids. And his poor wife! Ahhh... I laughed so hard! :lol: :lol: :lol: Aaaannnndddd.... a link to the blooper would help! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5A1wg5FA-g

We put 4 of these along the back wall of our kitchen eating area. They are unfinished, so you have to paint or stain them.... I painted mine white. We've been very happy with them. http://www.homedepot.com/p/24x84x18-in-Pantry-Cabinet-in-Unfinished-Oak-UCDR2484OHD/205977955

My teenagers always want cash, and I hate to give cash unless I can think of a funny way to hand it over! My most successful effort was the year that I bought 250 super balls from Amazon and a package of those little plastic gumball machine capsules. I painted the capsules (maybe a dozen?) in super ball colors, and put assorted bills inside. Then I put all of it inside a big square plastic bottle. You could only dump the balls/capsules out one at a time.... which took a while.... and then you had to sort through all the balls to find the capsules.... which also took a while. Anyway, my teenager thought it was pretty fun, plus he was left with 250 super balls which is pretty awesome! :lol: These are the balls I bought: https://www.amazon.com/Rhode-Island-Novelty-Discontinued-manufacturer/dp/B000N2VR48/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1482081524&sr=8-3&keywords=super+balls Anyway.... maybe this sounds nuts. I'm a bit of a nutty gift giver. :001_smile:

Our family loves the card game called Cover Your Assets. Fast moving and easy to learn. Here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/Grandpa-Becks-Cover-Your-Assets/dp/B0077Q0NP2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481869424&sr=8-1&keywords=assets+card+game

Just for something fun, I think these are really cute: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=animal+poppers Even better if you get two, so he and dad can have a popper war! :thumbup: (I have the pig and the bigfoot one is already under the tree for dh!)

I was going to suggest one of those heated throws, like an electric blanket. Mine goes nuts for that. Or a small sheepskin. I had to move mine off the couch because the cats were obsessed with it. If you decide to go the catnip route, you can make a tea with catnip and then dab it on the fabric and let it dry. The smell will stay behind. That's how we got our cats to love their cat tower/scratching post.... just dabbed catnip tea all over it!

We have had a huge amount of success with Omega-3s. We use these because they are small and easy to take, and because they seemed to be the right dosage for a teen: https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Omega-3-Mini-Softgels/dp/B003EX82DW/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1480972262&sr=8-1&keywords=omega%2B3%2Bmini%2Bgels&th=1

Here are a couple of ideas I thought were cute.... Fabric headbands: http://www.happytogetherbyjess.com/double-sided-fabric-headband-pattern/ Furry animal hoods: (Don't know if this is "too young", but they are sooo cute!) http://lemonsqueezyhome.com/2014/11/faux-fur-hood-tutorial-free-pattern-in.html

If you have an Old Navy you might try there. My son (17) is pretty concerned about his "style" and he loves almost everything that Old Navy is carrying this year. As a bonus, I think they're doing 50% off the whole store on Black Friday. (And they have some great flannels!)